


Eurydice

by MimBeech



Category: Rosemary and Thyme
Genre: Back Pain, F/F, Fluff, Inspired by Poetry, Massages
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-23
Updated: 2019-10-23
Packaged: 2020-12-31 15:37:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21148082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MimBeech/pseuds/MimBeech
Summary: A small moment of intimacy. Rosemary helps Laura with a sore back.Established relationship, lots of fluff, and discussion of poetry. Set in season 2.





	Eurydice

“Oh! Oh dear me!” Laura laughed. 

Rosemary turned and looked at her friend over her spectacles. “What is it?”

Laura gasped lightly with mirth, opened her mouth to speak, and descended into chuckles again. She was perched on the end of the bed in their dinky “spare” room, just out of the shower, wreathed in a fluffy white bathrobe. A small book lay open in her lap. 

“What?” Rosemary asked, good-naturedly exasperated, “What’s so funny?”

This wasn’t completely unusual – of the two of them, Laura was more prone to laughter than Rosemary. Rosemary patiently waited for her friend to catch her breath. She herself was seated at a little bureau, on a rickety chair, poring over plant catalogues and writing a list of purchases for their latest commission.

They were currently in Notting Hill, London. An old friend of Laura’s – Julie – had asked the two gardeners to design and create a memorial garden in the semi-private park behind her home. In return they were getting a very pleasant fee, and free accommodation in Julie’s upper-crust town house. 

Their room was nice, white-walled, cozy and (seemingly) filled with every throw pillow Julie didn’t want in the rest of the house. Laura’s old friend had initially provided two rooms for the two ladies, but Laura had had a quiet word with her, and their host had sighed in relief. (“Oh thank god, then I only have to wash the one set of sheets! You’ve no idea how tiresome these things are when your husband’s gone…”)

It had been a long day in the new garden, and both women were exhausted. Now, late at night, they were both relishing the opportunity to rest and recuperate. 

In time, Laura collected herself and managed to explain her laughing fit to her companion. 

“Julie gave me this book after dinner – it’s poetry by some Scottish woman, and she’s got the funniest take on all this Orpheus and Eurydice stuff I’ve ever read.”

Rosemary, curiosity piqued, rose and went to sit at Laura’s side on the bed. She picked up the book from Laura’s lap, and had a look at the cover. It was a soft-cover. Carol Ann Duffy: Collected Poems, was inscribed on a striking background of blue and red waves. 

“Here,” Laura gently reached over and flicked through the pages, eyes still crinkled with mirth, “that’s the one.”

The title was simply ‘Eurydice’, and Rosemary took her time reading through it. By the end, she too was smiling. She snapped the book shut and smiled at her companion – “Too right I should think.”

“Ha!” Laura huffed, “I know! God, we’ve both known men like that, huh.”

Rosemary nodded sagely, “Ones that treat you like you’re only special because they’re interested in you, and you know they’d immediately step on you if they thought it’d get them ahead.”

“They think they’re God’s greatest gift, when they’re really only God’s greatest twat!”

Rosemary laughed at that. “I understand why you were laughing, love.”

For a brief moment, memory seemed to catch up with Laura and she almost sighed. But she collected herself, smiled, and took Rosemary’s hand in her own. “I guess that’s why you’re so much better for me, hm?”

“Oh sure,” Rosemary rolled her eyes, smile still on her face, “You’re only with me ‘cos I’m not a man.”

Laura scoffed, “Dear me, of course not! Why would you say that?” She put an arm around the smaller woman’s shoulders and pressed a firm kiss to her cheek. “I’m with you ‘cos you’re you!”

This was evidently too much sap for Rosemary, because she laughed once and pushed Laura backwards on to the bed.

“Ouch!” Laura cried out, twisting her mouth in pain.

Rosemary reacted immediately, standing and hovering over her prone companion with a look of concern. “Gosh, are you okay? What happened? I’m so sorry…” 

Laura just lay there, taking deep breaths. “No don’t worry, I think I did something to my back today – all those trips down that alley with the wheelbarrow.”

“Oh no, sweet, I’m so sorry, where does it hurt?” Rosemary pulled herself completely on the bed so she was on her knees by Laura’s side.

“Lower back, I think… I’ve probably just over-worked it.”

“Hmmm,” Rosemary hummed, “Would you like me to do something about it?”

Laura looked at her, bemused, “What? Do you have pain-killers in your bags?”

“No, silly. I can give you a massage. See if I can loosen it up.”

Laura looked incredulous, blinking slowly up at Rosemary. The expression on her face was so endearing, Rosemary couldn’t help herself and she ducked quickly down to brush a soft kiss on Laura’s lips.

That made Laura smile, and Rosemary continued, “As long as you feel it’s not a pulled muscle, I can give you a back rub and see whether it helps – can’t hurt to try, hm?” She cajoled.

Laura shrugged her shoulders, “Well okay then, as long as you know what you’re doing.”

“Oh sure,” Rosemary said breezily, “I’ve done it before you know, it’ll help… probably…”

“Well I appreciate your confidence.” The sarcasm was evident in Laura’s voice as she quirked an eyebrow.

With the idea set in her mind, Rosemary was suddenly all business. “Do you think you can turn over on to your front?”

“Oh sure,” Laura responded breezily, but her ginger movements betrayed her assurance. 

As she carefully turned, Rosemary helped her extricate her arms from the bathrobe, so eventually Laura lay face-down on the bed with the bathrobe gracefully draped over her buttocks and legs.

“Comfy?” Rosemary asked.

Laura made a non-committal sound and shrugged into the mattress. 

“Well,” Rosemary straddled Laura, sitting lightly on her thighs. She then tickled her fingers down the other woman’s spine, “We’ll just have to see how we go.”

She was gentle at first, probing the muscle of Laura’s lower back and exploring the damage that had been done. If Rosemary also found some enjoyment for herself, having her hands on her lover and best friend, well that was an added bonus.

When Rosemary found a spot that made Laura groan, she focused on it. Patiently working her thumbs into the sore muscle until Laura made a small sound to let her know the pain had lessened somewhat. 

Time passed slowly, both women simply enjoying each other’s company (even if Laura was caused some pain, Rosemary assured her it would be temporary). Eventually, Rosemary’s arms tired and she placed a few kisses on Laura’s shoulder blades to finish up. 

Laura made a soft, warm sound at the intimate gesture, and Rosemary smiled quietly to herself. “Do you think our host is still awake? It’d be worth getting you a hot-water bottle to really help your muscles relax.”

It seemed to take Laura a little while to respond, she was so relaxed. “Uh yeah, she should be.”

Rosemary carefully moved off Laura and stood, “I’ll go have a look.”

…

When Rosemary returned to their room, hot water bottle in hand, she was greeted by the heart-softening sight of Laura asleep on the bed – having not moved an inch.

She moved to the bed and gently roused her companion, “You’re going to have to move into a more regular position if we’re going to share this bed, love.”

Laura blinked up at Rosemary, a soft smile on her face, and nodded sleepily. She carefully got up and took her sweet time getting dressed into an over-large sleep shirt. When she turned back to the bed, Rosemary was already tucked under the covers, reading glasses back on, thumbing through the poetry book.

As Laura got into bed herself, Rosemary wordlessly passed over the hot water bottle and helped Laura place it comfortably under her back. “Ooh, that’s nice,” she sighed, pulling the covers over herself.

Laura reached for Rosemary’s hand, and pulled it to her lips to press a strong kiss to the other woman’s knuckles. “I feel fantastic,” she whispered, with emotion, “Thank you, love.”

“Awh,” in the moment, it seemed that words couldn’t convey the warmth Rosemary felt, so she resorted to simple sound and gesture. She leaned over the other woman and kissed her lips deeply. 

When they parted, Rosemary smiled at her love, cheeks dimpling. “Any time.”

**Author's Note:**

> Notes  
• Loosely inspired by season 2, episode 2  
• The poem discussed is very good and available online – I recommend it ;)  
• Concrit is appreciated, and if you see a typo let me know!


End file.
